Magazine assembly with expendable cartridge container unit

ABSTRACT

A replacement cartridge magazine for a firearm comprises an adapter unit having a configuration similar to that of the upper portion of the standard magazine therefor, and a cartridge container with a spring-biased follower, which holds the cartridge requirements of the magazine assembly. The adapter preferably fabricated from metal, is releasably latched to the firearm so as to be normally a part thereof and the container, inexpensively manufactured from plastic so as to be expendable, is releasably latched to the adapter. A tape extends over the top of the container to secure the cartridges therein when loaded and so as to be sheared by the firearm bolt during passage over the magazine assembly. A protective cover is also provided for installation over the top, open portion of the container and is sealed by adhesive tape thereto.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Ilarold II. Wiese Davenport, Iowa[2]] Appl. No. 23,142 {22] Filed Mar. 27, 1970 [45] Patented Sept. 7,1971 [73] Assignee The United States of America as represented by theSecretary of the Army [54] MAGAZINE ASSEMBLY WITH EXPENDABLE CARTRIDGECONTAINER UNIT 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[5 2] US. Cl 42/50, 42/8 8 [51] Int. Cl F4lc 25/02, F42b 39/00 [50]Field of Search 42/50, 87, 88

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,910,795 11/1959 Agren42/50 66 iW/Al 3,087,270 4/1963 Stoner 3,443,334 5/1969 ArdolinoABSTRACT: A replacement cartridge magazine for a fireann comprises anadapter unit having a configuration similar to that of the upper portionof the standard magazine therefor, and a cartridge container with aspring-biased follower, which holds the cartridge requirements of themagazine assembly. The adapter preferably fabricated from metal, isreleasably latched to the firearm so as to be normally a part thereofand the container, inexpensively manufactured from plastic so as to beexpendable, is releasably latched to the adapter. A tape extends overthe top of the container to secure the cartridges therein when loadedand so as to be sheared by the firearm bolt during passage over themagazine assembly. A protective cover is also provided for installationover the top, open portion of the container and is sealed by adhesivetape thereto.

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SHEET 2 0F 2 35 Ei g 5 v E T I INVENTOR HILIUlfl l-Lwiese BY ATToiaNEYsMAGAZINE ASSEMBLY WITH EXPENDABLE CARTRIDGE CONTAINER UNIT The inventiondescribed herein may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for theGovernment for governmental purposes without the payment to me of anyroyalty thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to cartridgemagazines for firearms and pertains more particularly to a magazineassembly comprising one unit which is attachable to the firearm andanother expendable unit for holding a plurality of cartridges andthrough the cooperation of the adapter feeding them into the firearm.

While magazines for holding together in a single unit a supply ofcartridges provide excellent means for easily and quickly supplyingcartridges to a firearm they do present problems when emptied becausethey are, generally, relatively costly to manufacture and therefore arenot expendable except in emergencies. Present magazines, too, aredifficult to reload under field conditions especially in the coldregions where gloves have to be worn. Empty magazines, too, arebothersome to carry until reloading may be accomplished under favorableconditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention successfully overcomesmany of these problems as it is a principal object of the invention toprovide for firearms a magazine assembly which may be used to replacethe standard magazine therefor without any change in the firearmstructure and which comprises an adapter having the same configurationas the upper portion of the standard magazine so as to be replaceablylatched to the firearm as the standard magazine, and a cartridgecontainer provided with a spring-pressed follower which is replaceablylatched to the adapter.

It is further object of this invention to provide such a magazineassembly in which the adapter is fabricated from metal so that it can bepart of the firearm structure and used with many containers and in whichthe container is inexpensively fabricated as by molding from plasticmaterial so as to be expendable.

It is another object of this invention to form a container in which thetop is fully open so that the follower and biasing spring may beinstalled in the body of the container without requiring a separatebaseplate for such installation as in conventional magazines.

It is a further object of this invention to reduce the cost of themagazine assembly by providing a separate adapter for use with manycontainer units and by including in the adapter the costly, intricatelymachined parts of the magazine assembly as the cartridge positioningpair of lips.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following specification and the accompanying drawings which are forthe purpose of illustration only.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of afirearm, shown in phantom, which is partially broken away to show themagazine assembly of this invention mountedthereto;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view, longitudinally cross sectioned.of the magazine assembly mounted in the port therefor in the firearmreceiver;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the adapter;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the container loaded with cartridges;and

FIG. 5 is a reduced perspective view of the container with a coverinstalled thereon and sealed thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Shown in the Figures is afirearm 12 which comprises a receiver 14 and a bolt 16 disposed thereinfor reciprocal travel in forward and rearward strokes. An accommodatingport 20 in receiver 14 releasably mounts a magazine assembly 18 whichsuccessively positions cartridges 22 loaded therein for sliding removalby bolt 16 during the forward stroke thereof.

Magazine assembly 18 is adapted for holding a plurality of cartridges 22in a double-column staggered arrangement and comprises an adapter 24 anda cartridge container 26 insertable thereinto. When adapter 24 andcontainer 26 are assembled, the resulting magazine assembly 18 has anoverall configuration essentially similar to that of the standardmagazine for firearm 12 so that it provides a replacement therefor whilealso providing additional advantages obvious to those skilled in theart.

Container 26 comprises a base portion 28 of a deep concave configurationand an extension portion 30 which extends integrally upward therefrom.The walls of extension portion 30 are thinned down at the outsidethereof to form a stepped shoulder 32 around the top of base portion 28.Such shoulder 32 includes a top ledge 33, a bottom ledge 34 and a band35 therebetween. The rear end of extension portion 30 is open as shownat 36 and the rear end of base portion 28 is provided along the insidewith a channel 38 which extends symmetrically downward from top ledge33. Provided along the inside of each side of container 26, and adjacentthe rear end thereof, is a vertically disposed rib 39 which engages theextractor grooves of those cartridges 22 which are in the related one ofthe double columns thereof to prevent longitudinal displacement of thecartridges relative to container 26 but permit vertical displacement ofthe cartridges to the top end thereof.

Container 26 includes a follower 48 which is fabricated from plastic andis of conventional configuration and which is biased upwardly in thecontainer by spring 50. Follower 48 includes a tab 52 for actuating, inconventional fashion, a last round bolt stop in the firearm and whichextends into channel 38 of base portion 28 when the follower is locatedtherein and through opening 36 in extension portion 30 when the followeris located therein. Follower 48 and spring 50 are both installed incontainer 26 through the open top end thereof.

Cartridges 22 are loaded into container 26 from the open top end thereofand when the container is fully loaded the cartridges are held thereinagainst the bias of spring 50 by a tape 56 which extends over the opentop end and is heat sealed at both ends to the outside surfaces of theopposite sides of the container. Tape 56 is fabricated from a plasticmaterial which has sufficient strength to withstand the pressure appliedthereto by spring 50 but which is easily sheared by bolt 16 during firstpassage thereof over magazine assembly 18 after container 26 isinstalled into adapter 24 to free cartridges 22 in the container forsuccessive removal by the bolt.

Adapter 24 gas the general configuration of the upper por tion of thestandard metal magazine for firearm 12 and comprises a pair of lips 58which cooperate with follower 48 in locating the leading cartridge 22 inthe double columns in position for removal by bolt 16, as well known inthe art. Adapter 24 extends downwardly from port 20 far enough to permiteasy grasp of the extending portion for removal of the adapter fromreceiver 14.

The rear end of adapter 24 forms an inner channel 62, which is thevertical extension of channel 38, for receiving tab 52 of follower 48during upward displacement thereof in extension portion 30. Provided inone side of adapter 24 is a rectangular opening 64 which cooperates inconventional fashion with the standard latch 66 of firearm 12 toreleasably secure the adapter in port 20. Also provided in at least oneside of adapter 24, adjacent the bottom end thereof, is a rectangularaperture 68 which is arranged to receive a mating boss 70 protrudingfrom the respective side of container 26 to releasably secure thecontainer to the adapter when inserted thereinto. Boss 70 includes atop. cam surface 72 which inclines downwardly and outwardly from therespective side of container 26 for a purpose to be explainedhereinafter. Fixed to the front end of adapter 24 adjacent the bottomthereof is a spring-pressed clip 74 which cooperates with an outwardlyprojecting rim 76 around the bottom of port to assist latch 64 inreleasably holding the adapter to receiver 14.

Container 26 is preferably fabricated by a molding process frominexpensive, easily worked material, as found in the plastic field, sothat it can economically be used only once and then discarded. Adapter24, on the other hand, should be fabricated from metal because plasticwhen under pressure for a period of time has a tendency to creep andthis would distort lips 58 of adapter 24 due to the pressure appliedthereto, resulting in faulty feeding of cartridges 22.

Cartridges 22 loaded in container 26 are protected from the weather whenin storage or transit by a cover 78 which can be fabricated from aninexpensive material such as plastic, and is of a box configuration withan open end. Cover 78 is installed downwardly over extension portion 30so that the open end fits snugly over band of shoulder 32 and contactsbottom ledge 34. Cover 78 is held in place by an adhesive tape 80 whichseals the bottom end of the cover to the adjacent outside surface ofbase portion 28.

OPERATION Adapter 24 may be installed in port 20 by itself, or withcontainer 26 assembled thereto to complete magazine assembly 18, byinserting the top end of the adapter upwardly into the port and thenpressing upwardly thereagainst until latched in position by theengagement of latch 66 with opening 64. If adapter 24 is installedseparately, container 26 is subsequently installed, to load firearm 12,by first removing cover 78 by peeling off tape 80 to free the cover.Container 26 is then inserted upwardly into adapter 24 until extensionportion 30 is fully enclosed therein. When cam surface 72 of boss 70 oncontainer 28 contacts the bottom edge of adapter 24, duringinstallation, the cam surface forces the contacted side outwardly so asto freely admit entry of the boss into the adapter. When container 26 iscorrectly positioned, boss 70 is in registry with aperture 68 and theresnaps thereinto to releasably secure the container in adapter 24.

When bolt 16 passes forwardly over magazine assembly 18 the first timeafter container 26 is installed, it ruptures tape 56 to releasecartridges 22 for successive removal therefrom. If necessary, a cuttingedge can be provided on bolt 16 to facilitate the rupture of tape 56.When container 26 is emptied, it is removed to permit replacement by aloaded container by pressing inwardly on the sides of the emptycontainer until boss 70 is clear of apertures 68, thus freeing thecontainer for removal. With cartridges 22 removed from the emptiedcontainer 26, the sides thereof are easily squeezed inwardly to freeboss 70 from aperture 68. Because of the inexpensive manufacture ofcontainer 26 it is expendable and therefore can be discarded when emptyand a loaded one immediately installed, saving time, and thebother ofreloading, as with a conventional magazine, as well as eliminating thetrouble of carrying around emptied magazines until it is convenient toreload them. However, if field reloading is necessary, magazine assembly18 can be removed as a unit from firearm l2 and reloaded in the samemanner as a conventional magazine.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In cooperation with a firearm comprising a receiver with a magazineport and a bolt disposed for reciprocal travel in the receiver, amagazine assembly comprising an adapter unit receivable by the magazineport, means for releasably latching said adapter unit in the magazineport, and a cartridge container comprising a base portion of deepconcave configuration, a portion extending integrally from said baseportion and adapted for insertion into said adapter unit, means forreleasably securing said container to said adapter unit, a spring-biasedfollower for biasing cartridges in said container to a free open endthereof and means acted upon by the bolt during reciprocation thereoffor releasably securing the cartridges in said container.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said adapter isfabricated from metal and includes lip means disposed for cooperationwith said spring-biased follower for successively locating thecartridges in said assembly in a position for removal by the bolt duringreciprocation thereof, and wherein said container is inexpensivelyfabricated from plastic as by molding means so as to be expendable.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for releasablysecuring said container to said adapter unit comprises a boss ofrectangular configuration protruding from one side of said container, anaperture formed in said adapter unit and located to receive said bosswhen said container is correctly located therein, and a top cam surfaceof said boss contactable with the bottom edge of said adapter unit tofacilitate insertion of said container into said adapter unit and permitentry of said boss thereinto for reception by said aperture, said bossbeing responsive to inward pressure applied to said one side of saidcontainer for removal therefrom.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 and including a cover of boxconfiguration fitting over said extension portion to protect thecartridges in said container, and sealing means applied to saidcontainer and to the bottom edge of said cover.

. 5. The invention as defined in claim 1 and including an integral ribformed vertically along the inner wall of each side of said containerfor engagement by extractor grooves of cartridges disposed therein toprevent longitudinal displacement thereof in said container whilepermitting vertical displacement therealong.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1 and including supplementalfastening means disposed on said adapter for cooperation with lip meansaround the bottom edge of said magazine port thereby to assist saidfirst named means in releasably securing said adapter in said magazineport.

7. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said means acted upon bythe bolt comprises a tape of easily ruptured plastic material extendingover said open end and sealed at both ends to the opposite sides of saidcontainer.

1. In cooperation with a firearm comprising a receiver with a magazineport and a bolt disposed for reciprocal travel in the receiver, amagazine assembly comprising an adapter unit receivable by the magazineport, means for releasably latching said adapter unit in the magazineport, and a cartridge container comprising a base portion of deepconcave configuration, a portion extending integrally from said baseportion and adapted for insertion into said adapter unit, means forreleasably securing said container to said adapter unit, a spring-biasedfollower for biasing cartridges in said container to a free open endthereof and means acted upon by the bolt during reciprocation thereoffor releasably securing the cartridges in said container.
 2. Theinvention as defined in claim 1 wherein said adapter is fabricated frommetal and includes lip means disposed for cooperation with saidspring-biased follower for successively locating the cartridges in saidassembly in a position for removal by the bolt during reciprocationthereof, and wherein said container is inexpensively fabricated fromplastic as by molding means so as to be expendable.
 3. The invention asdefined in claim 1 wherein said means for releasably securing saidcontainer to said adapter unit comprises a boss of rectangularconfiguration protruding from one side of said container, an apertureformed in said adapter unit and located to receive said boss when saidcontainer is correctly located therein, and a top cam surface of saidboss contactable with the bottom edge of said adapter unit to facilitateinsertion of said container into said adapter unit and permit entry ofsaid boss thereinto for reception by said aperture, said boss beingresponsive to inward pressure applied to said one side of said containerfor removal therefrom.
 4. The invention as defined in claim 1 andincluding a cover of box configuration fitting over said extensionportion to protect the cartridges in said container, and sealing meansapplied to said container and to the bottom edge of said cover.
 5. Theinvention as defined in claim 1 and including an integral rib formedvertically along the inner wall of each side of said container forengagement by extractor grooves of cartridges disposed therein toprevent longitudinal displacement thereof in said container whilepermitting vertical displacement therealong.
 6. The invention as definedin claim 1 and including supplemental fastening means disposed on saidadapter for cooperation with lip means around the bottom edge of saidmagazine port thereby to assist said first named means in releasablysecuring said adapter in said magazine port.
 7. The invention as definedin claim 1 wherein said means acted upon by the bolt comprises a tape ofeasily ruptured plastic material extending over said open end and sealedat both ends to the opposite sides of said container.